Will slow starts, turnovers eventually doom Sam Darnold and the Seahawks' offense?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Sam Darnold began his postgame news conference by hitting what have become some familiar notes.

"It was, I felt like, a slow start but a good win -- a good team win," the Seattle Seahawks quarterback said after a 27-10 win against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. "Again, not the way we wanted to start on offense, but I feel like our defense and our special teams kept us in the game. We did enough in the second half as an offense to win the game."

Darnold could have been talking about any number of Seahawks wins over the last month and a half, as this marked the sixth time in the last seven games in which Seattle's sixth-ranked scoring offense has failed to top nine points in the first half. Combine that with two more turnovers by Darnold against Carolina, and the Seahawks have some serious issues on offense they'll have to fix if they want to realize their Super Bowl potential.

Because despite their penchant for slow starts and giveaways, they still might be the best team in the NFL. Their 13 wins are tied with the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots for most in the league. They lead the NFC West and currently hold the No. 1 seed in the conference, with both on the line Saturday night when they close out the regular season against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC).

But with the exception of their overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams last week, most of their wins in the second half of the year have come against teams without elite quarterbacks, including Bryce Young and the 8-8 Panthers.

Can they survive those offensive issues against better opponents in the playoffs? Or next week against Brock Purdy and the 49ers?

The Seahawks have committed 28 turnovers as a team, second-most in the NFL (two came on defense via fumbles after interceptions). And while not every turnover that ends up on a quarterback's ledger is his fault, Darnold now leads the league with 20. That brings into play the potential for an odd bit of history, as no player since at least 1978 has led the NFL in turnovers while playing for a top-seeded playoff team, according to ESPN Research.

Darnold led the NFL in Total QBR through Seattle's first nine games (78.1). In seven games since then, he ranks 27th (37.9), with 10 turnovers in that span largely to blame.

Darnold had three other throws that were deflected and nearly intercepted Sunday.

"It's really just the ball being in jeopardy," coach Mike Macdonald said of Seattle's turnover problem. "Deflections, things like that, those things happen, but I think if we take care of the front end of the plays better, it won't be as big of an issue ... It's how you finish plays. We've got to double down on that. It's critical this part of the year."

To be fair, both of Darnold's turnovers on Sunday could have been ruled incomplete passes. His second-quarter fumble on a strip-sack was upheld upon review, though Seattle had an argument that his arm was moving forward when the ball came out. Mike Jackson picked off Darnold on a deep throw into the end zone in the third quarter that was intended for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, though the replay showed that the former Seahawks corner's toe may been on the back line.

Seattle's defense erased Darnold's mistake when Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence forced and recovered a fumble on the next play, setting up the first of Zach Charbonnet's two rushing touchdowns.

"It's unbelievable," Darnold said. "Our defense has been doing that all year. They've been stepping up in such a huge way, especially for me. That turnover, I've just got to move on in my progression, or at least just make it an us-or-nobody throw where Jax can go up and get it or it's incomplete. Our defense has had our back all year and vice versa."

The Seahawks got another takeaway via an interception by safety Julian Love, plus two more turnovers on downs before the Panthers kneeled out the clock. They held Carolina to 139 total yards, 2.7 yards per play and 1 of 11 on third down -- bouncing back after Matthew Stafford and the Rams gashed them through the air last week. The Seahawks' defense is allowing the second-fewest points of any team (17.3). There's no question it's a championship-caliber unit. Their offense has shown it can light up the scoreboard when it's not sleepwalking through the first half or putting the ball in harm's way -- and now it appears to finally have a competent run game.

Seattle has topped 160 yards on the ground in each of the last two weeks. Charbonnet went for 110 on 18 attempts Sunday as the Seahawks finally closed out a game with their four-minute offense.

They went 9 of 16 on third down. Among the conversions in the second half were Darnold completions on third-and-4 to Smith-Njigba, third-and-4 to receiver Cooper Kupp and third-and-9 to tight end AJ Barner.

Darnold finished 18 of 27 for 147 yards and a touchdown pass to Barner. That came amid a run of three touchdowns and four scores in four possessions, as the Seahawks' offense came alive again after its latest slow start.

"I know it wasn't Sam's best game of all-time and the stats reflect that, but there are some big-time third down throws with pressure in his face," Macdonald said. "... They're not easy to make."